Gaging device for oil tanks



Sept. 29, 1959.

Filed Aug. 30, 1957 J. L. HUFF 2,

GAGING DEVICE FOR OIL TANKS 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR.

JAMES L. H um:

United States Patent 2,906,471 7 V V GAGING DEVICE FOR OIL TANKS James L. Huff, Quitman, Tex.

Application August30, 1957, Serial No. 681,297

1 Claim. (Cl. 242- 843) This invention relates to liquid level gaging devices, and more particularly to a gaging device for use in measuring the liquid level in oil tanks.

A main object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved liquid level gaging device especially suitable for measuring the level of oil in atank, said gaging device being simple in construction, being easy to use, and being provided with means for automatically removing the oil from the tape portion of the device when the tape is rewound.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved gaging device for measuring the level of oil in an oiltank, said device being inexpensive to manufacture, being durable in construction,'and being provided with means for efliciently controlling the unwinding of the tape element thereof, as well as for automatically removing the oil from said tape element when the tape element is rewound on the device.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description and claim, and from the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing an. improved liquid level gaging device constructed inaccordance with the present invention.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary vertical cross sectional view taken through a portion of an oil tank and illustrating the manner in which the liquid level gaging device of Figure l is employed to measure the level of liquid in the tank.

Figure 3 is an enlarged front elevational view of the liquid level gaging device, said view being taken on the line 33 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a vertical cross sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a horizontal cross sectional view taken on the line 5--5 of Figure 4.

Referring to the drawings, the improved liquid level gaging device is designated generally at 11 and comprises a support 12 having a handle 13, so that the support may be easily held in the position illustrated in Figure 1, wherein the user grasps the upper grip portion 14 of the handle in the manner illustrated in dotted view in Figure 1, so that the users thumb extends forwardly adjacent to said grip portion.

The support 12 comprises a pair of parallel side wall members 15 and 16 formed with the arms 17 and 18 at their forward upper portions, said arms extending parallel to each other and being connected at their top ends by a top wall portion 19 to which the forward end of the grip element 14 of the handle 13 is secured. The vertical side wall members 15 and 16 are formed at their upper rear portions with the parallel arms 20 and 21 which are offset inwardly at 22 and 23, respectively, as shown in Figures 1 and 5 and which merge integrally with the respective abutting inner handle frame elements 24 and 25. The inner frame elements 24 and 25 are coextensive with and form part of the handle 13 and the grip portion 14 of the handle, as shown in Figure 1, the frame ice elements merging integrally with the respective pairs of the top wall elements 19 extending acrossthe top portions of the forward arms 17 and 18 of .support member 12..

at its lower end with'a transversely extending portion 31 which is welded at 32 to the bottom edge of the arm 30.

Designated at 33 is a'reel which is journaled between the intermediate portionsof the side walls 15 and 16, said reel including the transverse shaft 3.4 which projects outwardly from the wall 15 and which has secured thereon a handle 35 for rotating the reel. Designated at 36 is a conventional calibrated level gaging tape which has secured to its outer end. a plumb bob 37 of conventional construction, said plumb bob serving to unwind the tape when the reel 33 is released, so that the tape may be lowered into an oil tank, for example, into the oil tank 38 illustrated in Figure l, untilythe plumb bob 37 engages the floor of the tank, whereby the level of oil in the tank may be ascertainedby reeling in the tape 36 and notingthe point on the tape corresponding to the surface level of the oil 39 in the tank. Y

Journaled between depending lugs 41 formed-in the side walls 15 and 16 rearwardly of the reel 33 is a first transverse roller 42 Designated at 43 is an arcuate lever member which is pivoted at its intermediate portion'between the rear portions of the side wall members 15 and 16, as by a.transverse.pin member 44 extending through the side walls 15 and 16 and through upstanding pivot lugs 45, 45 secured to the side edges of the arcuate lever 43.

As shown in Figure 4,;the arcuate lever 43 extends along and is spaced from the periphery of the tape wound on the reel 33. Journaled between lugs 46 extending from the side edges of the lower end portion of the lever 43 is a transverse roller 47 normally located closely adjacent to the transverse roller 42 and biased toward said transverse roller by a spring 48 provided on the support 12 behind the lower portion of lever 43. The spring 48 comprises a plurality of turns of spring wire mounted on a transverse supporting bolt 49 secured between the walls 15 and 16, one end of the spring wire bearing against the lower portion of lever 43 and the other end bearing beneath the inner ends of the offset portions 22 and 23 of the side wall members 15 and 16, anchoring the spring 48 so that the outer end portion 50 of the spring acts on the lever 43 to bias the lever counterclockwise, as viewed in Figure 4, whereby to urge the roller 47 toward the roller 42. As shown in Figure 4, the tape 36 passes between the rollers 47 and 42, and the squeezing force exerted on the roller 47 by spring 48 is sufficient to substantially strip the oil from the tape 36 when the reel 33 is rotated to wind the tape up on the reel.

The upper end portion of the lever 43 is formed with depending lugs 52, 52 at its side edges, and secured'between said lugs is a block 53 of friction material which is engageable with the periphery of the tape wound up on reel 33 when the lever 43 is rotated in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Figure 4, whereby to exert a braking force on the tape as it unwinds from the reel. Rigidly secured in the top wall member 19 is a guide sleeve 55 which is directed toward the lever 43 and which contains a plunger member 56 having a bottom shoe portion 57 engageable with the surface of the lever 43 and provided with a top knob 58 engageable by the thumb of the person holding the handle 13.

As shown in Figure 1, the tape 36 may be unwound from the reel by exerting downward force on the knob 58, whereby the shoe element 57 of plunger 56 is urged into contactwith the lever 43, whereby the lever 43 is rotated clockwise, as viewed in Figure 4, moving the roller 47 away from the roller 42, whereby the plumb bob 37 is allowed to unwind the tape 36 from reel 33. The unwinding of the tape may be controlled by moving the friction shoe element 53 against the periphery of the tape as the tape is unwound, as is clearly shown in Figgure 1, whereby the users thumb is shown in engagement with the knob 58 so that the plunger member 56 may be urged downwardly to cause a desired amount of retarding force to be applied to the unwinding tape.

As is readily apparent, the unwinding of the tape may be stopped at any time by exerting sufficient force on the plunger element 46 to cause the friction shoe 53 to lockingly engage against the periphery of the tape, whereby to prevent further unwinding thereof. Furthermore, when the pressure on the control plunger 56 is released, the spring 48 acts to rotate the lever 43 counterclockwise into the position shown in Figure 4, wherein the transverse roller 47 exerts clamping force on the tape, whereby the tape is clamped between the rollers 42 and 47.

When the tape is rewound on the reel 33, the rollers 42 and 47 cooperate to strip the oil from the tape before the tape is wound, so that substantially all oil is removed from the tape as it is wound up on the reel 33.

As will be well understood, the removal of the oil from the tape facilitates its subsequent handling, transportationtion and storage, and eliminates the necessity of further cleaning of the gage device after use.

Journaled between the side wall members and 16 above the roller 42 is a further transverse roller 60 of rigid material, and journaled between the arms 29 and 30 is another transverse roller 61, also of rigid material, the rollers 60 and 61 serving to aid in guiding the tape 36 as it unwinds from the reel and serving to minimize backlash of the tape.

The transverse rollers 42 and 47 are preferably made of rubber or of any other similar resilient deformable ma- '4' terial, so that the rollers will deform to facilitate the removal of the oil from the tape as the tape is wound up on the reel 33, as above described.

The friction shoe 53 may be made of any suitable resilient deformable friction material, such as rubber or the like, having a substantial coefficient of friction when engaged with the surface of the tape.

While a specific embodiment of an improved liquid level gaging device has been disclosed in the foregoing description, it will be understood that various modifications within the spirit of the invention may occur to those skilled in the art. Therefore, it is intended that no limitations be placed on the invention except as defined by the scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

In combination, in a liquid level gaging device, a support having a handle, a reel journaled on the support and adapted to carry a measuring tape, a first transverse roller journaled on said support, a lever member pivoted at its intermediate portion to said support, a second transverse roller journaled on said lever member and located adjacent said first transverse roller, said lever member being rotatable to move said second transverse roller toward said first transverse roller, spring means biasing said lever member in a direction to urge said second transverse roller toward said first transverse roller, whereby to exert squeezing force on a portion of the measuring tape received between the transverse rollers, a plunger member slidably mounted on the forward end portion of the support and being engageable with said lever member for at times rotating said second transverse roller away from said first transverse roller, and a friction element on the lever member subjacent said plunger member and being movable toward the reel for frictional engagement with the tape wound thereon responsive to rotation of the lever by said plunger member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Truman Mar. 7, 1939 

